GRANTS TO EDUCATION BOARDS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 979, 24 February 1910, Page 5

GRANTS TO EDUCATION BOARDS.

A DEPUTATION WAITS ON THE MINISTER.

A CANDID AND PRACTICAL

REPLY.

By Telegraph—Press Association. WELLINGTON, February 23. A deputation fiom the Wellington Euducaron Board waited »<n the Minister for Education (Hon. G. flowldh), to-day, to complain of the reduction in the grant made by the Department to the Board in its appropriation of the public funds for education during the current year. Mr R. Lee. Chairman of the Board, was the principal spokesman. Mr Lee said the deputation came to dis cuss a very important matter. How far the Board could carry on. The Board's grant had been ridiculed by £2,000. It, this connection the Board had good reason to believe that its grant tor 1909 would be the same as in 1908 The grant in 1908 amounted to £5,501. this latter year to £3,400 only. In the past the grant had been on the value of the school buildings. The value of the school, buildings had been increasing from ypar to year, and it would be interesting to know why with the increased value of buildings there had been a reduction in the grant. The Minister, in reply, said it appeared to him there had been a good deal of misunderstanding which it would be well to remove. It had been stated that the maintenance vote had been reduced this was not so. The Department has as many schools to ! look after as any Board in New Zealand. He instanced the case of the native schools. These were in isolated districts, and he would say that the average age of the native schools was greater than those under the control of any Board in the North Island, and yet more than 50 per cent, above the amount required for the maintenance of schools under the control of the Department. He repeated that the Government had made no reduction ir \e maintenance vote. Very fewlwhe Boards had spent much more than half the money that bad been paid to them for re-building. The average for the whole of the Dominion was only 59.3 per cent. He did not bind himself to the fact that the Wellington Board had more nearly expended its maintenance vote than any other Board in the Dominion. So far as the vote for education was concerned the Department was not responsible for it. It was for the Government as a whole to take the responsibility. The natural increase lor the vote this , year was £103,000, and with a sta- | tionary revenue it was clear the posi- ' tion had to be considered. Considering that only 59 per cent, of the rebuilding vote had been spent throughout the' country it surely showed that no great harm would crme by reducing the vote tor this year. In one case a sum had been voted for the building of schools destroyed by fire, and if this was not wholly spent there might be a surplus for Distribution, and it was possible that the Departmtnt might be able to do a little more to bring the maintenance vote up to the standard laid down in 1903. The rebuilding vote could not be increased. Next year he hoped the revenue would foe up to its natur al level. He could,not pay out money that had not been'voted by Parliament.